Phillies vs. Marlins Friday MLB probable pitchers, odds: NL Cy Young favorite Sandy Alcantara could lock in start for All-Star Game

No Marlins pitcher has won the National League Cy Young Award or started the MLB All-Star Game. Both could happen this year with ace right-hander Sandy Alcantara. He's the clear -110 favorite at Caesars Sportsbook to win the Cy Young and might lock down the starting spot for the NL in next week's Midsummer Classic with another dominant outing against the visiting Philadelphia Phillies tonight. The Marlins are -165 favorites.

The NL manager for the All-Star Game is Atlanta's Brian Snitker, and I would argue there are only three legitimate options to start for the Senior Circuit at Dodger Stadium next Tuesday: Alcantara, and the Dodgers' Tony Gonsolin and Clayton Kershaw. Gonsolin's case took a big hit Wednesday when he allowed a season-high five runs in St. Louis and raised his season ERA from 1.62 to 2.02, but he's still 11-0 because L.A. staged an incredible rally to win.

Kershaw is a solid 6-2 with a 2.40 ERA but has made only 11 starts. Starting him in his own stadium might be more of a career honor because the three-time Cy Young winner somehow has never started an ASG (how is that possible?) and this may be his last chance at age 34.

Numbers-wise, it deserves to be the 26-year-old Alcantara, who is 9-3 with an NL-best 1.73 ERA (second-best in franchise history through 18 starts of a season), a 0.91 WHIP (third-best in the NL) and 111 strikeouts (fifth). Over his last 12 starts, Alcantara is 7-1 with a 1.24 ERA, allowing only 57 hits and 13 earned runs over 94.2 innings while striking out 80. He has allowed more than two earned runs just once in that span.

Obviously, going deep into games means nothing in the All-Star Game, but Alcantara has pitched at least seven innings in 12 straight starts, the longest stretch by any pitcher in a season since 2014 when Kershaw (17), Felix Hernandez (16), and David Price (14) had longer streaks. Alcantara is the only pitcher in the majors with two complete games. He is 1-0 with a 2.57 ERA in two starts spanning 14 innings against the Phillies this year and 6-4 with a 3.03 ERA in 12 career starts against them.

The Marlins already are without the injured Jazz Chisholm (All-Star starter at second base) and Jorge Soler, and lost MLB stolen-base leader Jon Berti (28 SB) in Thursday's win over Pittsburgh to a mild groin strain. That likely means he's done for the first half.

The Phillies played in Toronto this week without regulars JT Realmuto and Alec Bohm because they weren't vaccinated for COVID but both will come off the restricted list for this one. Bohm is no sure thing to play, though, as he dislocated his finger Monday in St. Louis. It was popped back in so he might be able to go. 

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